InKAS would like to invite overseas Korean adoptees currently living in Korea to a program through the Gyeongbuk Provincial Office - a free trip to Gyeongju from December 14th (starts late afternoon) to December 16th (ends in afternoon). Trip covers a two-night stay at Hyundai Hotel, all meals, transportation by KTX from and back to Seoul Station as well as during the tour, cultural performances, and all sightseeing tours arranged.

Itinerary includes a night tour of Anapji, visit to POSCO/Pohang, Miso II performance, and a tour of historical sights of Gyeongju. Plenty of free time also! For a detailed itinerary or to reserve a spot, email to contact@inkas.org.

InKAS is hosting our annual winter trip for
Korean adoptees currently living in Korea.

We invite you to experience this great
opportunity!

As more Korean adoptees return to live in
Korea, finding employment has become an important issue. Therefore, this year’s winter trip will focus
on providing a variety of resources on career opportunities and starting up a
business in Korea. We hope this trip
will provide valuable career resources and tips, as well as a way to make new
connections with participants through various activities, including skiing/snowboarding
and an indoor water park experience.

The 18th Republic of Korea presidential election
will be held in South Korea on 19 December 2012. It will be the
sixth presidential election since democratization
and the establishment of the Sixth Republic, and will be held under a first-past-the-post system, meaning that there
will be a single round of voting and the candidate receiving the highest number
of votes will be elected. Under the South Korean constitution, presidents are
restricted to a single five-year term in office, and the term of incumbent
president Lee Myung-bak will end in February 2013.
Registration for candidacy began on 23 April 2012.

At
the end of 2011, Park Geun-hye assumed control of the Grand National Party,
which was subsequently renamed the Saenuri
or New Frontier Party in February 2012. She distanced herself from Lee and led
the party towards the center. In legislative elections in
April 2012, Park guided the party to an upset victory, returning its majority
in the National Assembly. This contributed to an increase in her poll
ratings and consolidated her position as frontrunner for the Saenuri
nomination.

Opposition
to Saenuri is divided primarily between the Democratic United Party and independent supporters of Ahn Cheol-soo,
who has emerged as a leading potential candidate despite his ostensible silence
on the race.
In the DUP, focus initially lay on Sohn Hak-kyu
as a potential nominee, but by late 2011 Moon Jae-in,
a confidant of former president Roh, had overtaken Sohn in polls.
Although the DUP invited Ahn to join the party,
only 2.3% of respondents to a poll on 21 April thought that Ahn was best suited
to be DUP nominee.
The DUP itself has been troubled by the split between pro-Roh members such as
Moon Jae-in and the "Honam wing" of former president Kim Dae-jung,
represented by Chung Dong-young.

In
early September 2011, speculation spread that Ahn would enter politics by
competing in the October 26 Seoul mayoral by-election. Analysts say that if
positioned as an independent, Ahn would attract a degree of support from those
disaffected by mainstream political parties in the wake of corruption
allegations and continuing policy failures. As a medical doctor, professor,
self-taught computer entrepreneur, and corporate leader, Ahn is representative
of everything mainstream Korea dreams of becoming. Ahn's political motivation is very similar to Roh Moo-hyun-led
populism in 2002. He alluded to becoming the nominee for the president via his
book 'Thought of Ahn Cheol-Soo'.

On September
19, 2012 at 3pm KST, Ahn held a press conference and announced his intention to
run for the 2012 Presidential election.
This announcement came after months of speculation on whether or not Ahn was
going to run for the presidency. The South Korean presidential election will be
held on December 19, 2012. In the address that lasted around 20 minutes, Ahn
spent a considerable amount of time on how he came to the decision to run for
the president of the Republic of Korea, quoting the people that he met during
the time of discernment for the presidency that expressed their strong urge for
the "new politics".

Born in Geoje, South Korea,
Moon Jae-in was the first son. His father was a refugee from North Korea
that fled his native city of Hamhung during the Hanghung Retreat. His father settled in
Geoje as a laborer for Geoje POW Camp. He attended Gyoungnam High
School, considered among the most prestigious school outside Seoul. He enrolled
to Kyunghee University majoring in law. He was
arrested and expelled from the university when he organized a student protest
against Yushin Constitution. Later, he was forcibly conscripted
to the military and recruited to the Special Forces where he
participated in a military mission during the Axe murder incident. After discharge, he passed
the Bar Exam
and was admitted to the Judicial Research and Training Institute. He graduated
second in the institute and despite his superb academic record he was not
admitted to become a judge due to his student protests. He chose to become a
lawyer instead.

Despite his
earlier indifference to politics, he changed his reluctance and began to get
involved in the politics. He published a memoir called "The Destiny of
Moon Jae-in" which became a bestseller.
His popularity has been rising steadily. In the February 2012 Poll, Moon gained
parity with Park in popularity.
Moon managed to capitalize on the conservatives' decline in popularity amid a
series of corruption scandals as one pundit said "Moon had managed to
portray himself as a moderate and rational leader who has the backing of the
younger generation".
In early 2012, Moon entered a bid for a seat at National Assembly and has been
campaigning in western Busan.

Park was
elected a Grand National Party (GNP) assemblywoman
for Dalseong,
Daegu in 1998 by election, and elected three more times in the same electoral
district between 1998 and 2008, being the incumbent assemblywoman till April
2012. In 2012, Park announced that she would not run for a constituency
representative seat for the 19th election in Dalseong or anywhere else, but for
a proportional representative position for the Saenuri Party instead, in order
to lead the party's election campaign. She was elected as a proportional
representative in the April 2012 election.

Park hoped to
emulate her father's success by becoming the presidential nominee of the Grand National Party. She eventually lost
to Lee Myung-bak
by a narrow margin. Lee had a commanding lead at the beginning of the primary
season, but Park was able to narrow the gap through allegations of Lee's
corruption. Park won the "party member's bid", but she lost the
"national bid" which is a larger percentage of the total presidential
bid.

Park
has been the leading candidate for the 2012 presidential election
in every national-level poll in South Korea between 2008, when Lee Myung-bak
administration began, and September 2011. Park's approval rating was highest
when 2008 National Assembly election showed her strong influence and lowest in
early 2010 as a result of her political stance against Lee administration in Sejong City
issue.

On
July 10, Park formally announced her 2012 presidential bid at the Time Square, Yeongdeungpo-gu,
Seoul. In this event she emphasized the right to pursue happiness, democratic
economy, and customized welfare services for Korean people.

A gathering at the InKAS guesthouse to chat, and also learn how to make songpyeon, the traditional rice cake eaten during Chuseok. Later we moved to Ashley's, a buffet restaurant, for dinner followed by a movie.

Insadong is a dong, or neighborhood, of the Jongno-gu district of the South Korean city of Seoul. The main street is Insadong-gil, which is connected to a multitude of alleys that lead deeper into the district. At one time it was the largest market for antiques and artworks in Korea.

Insadong was originally two towns whose names ended in the syllables "In" and "Sa". They were divided by a stream which ran along Insadong's current main street. Insadong began 500 years ago as an area of residence for government officials. During the early period of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897), the area was property that belonged to Gwanin-bang and Gyeonpyeong-bang. Bang was the name of an administrative unit, Hanseong during that time (old name for the capital, Seoul). During the Japanese occupation, the wealthy Korean residents were forced to move and sell their belongings, at which point the site became an area of trading in antiques. After the end of the Korean War, the area became a focus of South Korea's artistic and cafe life. It was a popular destination among foreign visitors to South Korea during the 1960s, who called the area "Mary's Alley". It gained in popularity with international tourists during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In 2000 the area was renovated, and, after protest, the rapid modernization of the area was halted for two years.

Insadong-gil is "well known as a traditional street to both locals and foreigners" and represents the "culture of the past and the present". It contains a mixture of historical and modern atmosphere and is a "unique area of Seoul that truly represents the cultural history of the nation."The majority of the traditional buildings originally belonged to merchants and bureaucrats. Some larger residences, built for retired government officials during the Joseon period, can also be seen. Most of these older buildings are now used as restaurants or shops. Among the historically significant buildings located in the area are Unhyeongung mansion, Jogyesa - one of the most significant Korean Buddhist temples, and one of Korea's oldest Presbyterian churches.

The area is well known for sightseeing, with approximately 100,000 visitors on Sundays reported in 2000. Insadong is also a visiting spot for foreign dignitaries such as Queen Elizabeth II and the princess of Spain and the Netherlands. It contains 40 percent of the nation's antique shops and art galleries as well as 90 percent of the traditional stationery shops. Particularly noteworthy is Tongmungwan, the oldest bookstore in Seoul, and Kyung-in Art Gallery, the oldest tea house. There are daily calligraphy demonstrations and pansori performances

InKAS will be offering 3 different cultural classes for Korean adoptees during the months of November and December! The class location will be in Yonhui-dong (near Hongdae Station) close to the InKAS guesthouse. All classes are free of charge, but small renting/textbook fees will be required.

Conversational Korean Language Class: Anyone can join this class, it will focus primarily on conversational speaking. Class will be taught by an accredited Korean instructor. Textbook will be used. Course days: M